Credit crunch hits blind society

Managers of a Suffolk charity are blaming the credit crunch for plans to relocate a care home to new premises being scrapped.

Ipswich Blind Society had hoped to move from St Felix Care Home for the Blind, to a redevelopment at Conford House.

The society was working with Flagship Housing on the development, but now Flagship has announced it has had to postpone the building work.

Chiefs at the charity said it was an effect of the credit crunch.

Specialist accommodation

Now the charity hopes to renovate and extend St Felix Care Home instead.

Plans include incorporating the former Coach House into the main building, adding extra rooms and en-suite facilities, and installing a lift.

Chairman of Ipswich Blind Society Roger Fern said: "By increasing the number of residents and improving the standard of accommodation we can offer, we can put St Felix on a more stable financial footing.

"With the population living longer, the incidence of age-related visual impairment can only increase, making specialist accommodation like St Felix all the more important."

A major fundraising campaign will be launched in the New Year, once plans have been finalised.